There are some French run international schools that hire ESL teachers in Mauritania..the pay is around $2,000/Month plus some benefits. Good luck in your search!

In Ecuador I taught at elite private school and got 450/month plus my visa paid for..with no airfare or housing assistance. Ecuador is actually not in a recession, so the country is not really that poor right now. Although I admit in many of the poorest countries 1-5% of the population is wealthy and well educated, any job in a country this poor offering 2000 US dollars a month plus other benefits is 100% certain to be a scam!

2,000 a month or 24,000 a year to teach in one of the poorest countries on earth still sounds like to high a salary to me. Maybe I am wrong, but I'd be wary of a job offering that much... but maybe they have to pay that much to get anyone to come?

Yes .Mauritania is a hardship posting...that is why they offer a good TEFL salary to attract candidates. The Sahara Desert with its endless sand dunes covers most of the north and east of the country and roads are extremely difficult to drive in...especially during sandstorms. If you llke sand this is a great place to live in...sand everywhere...and more sand! Mauritania is not Morocco!!!!

NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA—At a book market in Mauritania’s capital recently, a prominent author, Al-Mubarak Weld Al-Khal was looking for some of the more than 20 textbooks he has written. It might have seemed like a simple task. But in a nation where textbooks are increasingly hard to find, it was tedious and difficult.

Since last year, books in Mauritania have, for reasons that are not always clear, been steered from legal distributors into the black market, and they have become difficult to find and overpriced. “The prices of school books are unbelievable, and so is the fluctuation of prices in the black market these days,” said Al-Khal, who is also a former director of the Primary Education Department in Mauritania’s Ministry of Education. He attended the book market recently to buy books for his grandson.

Scarcity of primary, middle and secondary reading-level books are a hot topic in Mauritania, where many parents—and even grandparents—are struggling to find the educational materials their children need. Among them is Maryam Ment Ahmeida, whose children have difficulty studying due to lack of book availability. She can’t even find an Arabic language textbook, which a teacher had recommended she buy, on the black market.

When books are available, they are often expensive. The price of a single book can be as much as around 3,000 Mauritanian Ouguiya, the local currency, or $10.32—much more than previous rates that typically would not exceed 100 Ouguiya ($.34) at small kiosks where books used to be sold. This kiosks closed 15 years ago based on recommendations by the World Bank that aimed to reform education and prevent fake books from hitting the market.

Aldada Weld El-Salem, who is in his thirties, said he was lucky to find six schoolbooks for his daughter for a total of 20,000 Ouguiya ($68.81) on the black market. “I did not want to risk the future of my daughter so I recently gave in to the prices of the dealers and I paid whatever they asked for,” he said. “I did not want my daughter to be a victim of the indifference of the official authorities toward a current crisis afflicting all of Mauritania’s schools.”

While the reasons for the problem were unclear, Al-Khal said book shortages and black market prices—combined with rife book theft and smuggling—are symptoms of broader corruption in Mauritania’s education system. Al-Khal is specifically concerned about what the high cost of books means for the nation’s poor. Other parents have complained to Ministry of Education officials about the challenges the crisis creates for their children’s futures.

But shortages and costs don’t effect children alone: Arabic teacher Ahmed Salem said he has been unable to find a copy of a teacher’s guide—helping him understand why children come to school without books. One student, Azza Ment Abah, who attends a school in Nouakchott, said some of her classmates were expelled from the school because they could not buy books. A parent, Al-Salek Weld Moatalan, said he was annoyed when another teacher in the city sent his children home because they lacked the learning materials they needed.

Officials vow they are working to combat the problem. Sidi Mohammad Weld Kaber, the director of the National Educational Institute, a public organization in charge of the printing and nationwide distribution of school books, acknowledged difficulty people face finding books. He also said a law should be passed criminalizing the theft of schoolbooks and black market sales, and that he needed time to investigate the problem. Providing children with the books that they need as soon as possible is on top of his team’s agenda, Weld said. He is also considering of re-opening schoolbook kiosks.

Additionally, the National Educational Institute recently started investigations into the textbook shortage and the illegal sale of books. Earlier this year, security officials announced that attempts were made to arrest a network of textbook smugglers following the theft of 3,000 books from a secondary school in Mauritania’s capital. A similar robbery had also occurred in a primary school in the same area. To get around the problem, one primary school student, Ahmed Walad Mohammad said he photocopies pages of books he needs. “Since we go to a private school, we are allowed to photocopy our lessons,” Mohammad.

I'm planning on attempting to make the transition (soon as my Turkish is good enough to get the language bonus) and know other Americans who are thinking the same. I expect EFL time in foreign countries, particularly in "hardship postings" (which includes places like Turkey, Greece, and Mexico) is a plus in the experience column.

I hear that the country is a great place in which to work, that the cost of living is low, that the salaries are high for qualified and experienced western teachers, that the food is nurishing, the people friendly and the weather great.

I just can't find any jobs offered there on this forum. Does anyone have a lead?

I worked there and found it to be pretty much the opposite of everything you've just said, with the exception of friendly people. It's a horrible place to work, cost of living is surprisingly high, salaries are 'high' but not nearly high enough for the hardship suffered, the food is disgusting and hygiene standards are very poor, the weather is stiflingly hot and dusty (Its the Sahara, after all).

You would probably be able to get work at the Higher Institute of English if you have 1) a degree and 2) a CELTA certificate - as a minimum. You can apply directly to that institution which has a presence on the internet.

You probably need to keep in mind that:

1) Al Qaeda is active in the country. People have been kidnapped and are still held and people continue to be kidnapped. Check the US or UK government travel advisories for more information.

2) You need one hell of a lot of vaccinations to live there. Hep A/B, Dengue, Yellow fever. Cholera, Rabies and I've forgotten what else - and a heap of anti-malarial tables. You need to take measures against both mosquito types 24/7. Since health insurance isn't possible, you would need to take out emergency evacuation insurance.

I am a little bewildered as to why you'd want to go there, but each to their own - and good luck!

As someone who has worked in Mauritania for nearly 2 years, I find Susie's positive comments about right apart from the bit about the food

Please beware of jaundiced views. Try the French travel advice (which is much more favorable) rather than the US. They have a much better understanding of security here with their much larger presence. For example, they are 35 Brits in country with nearly half at the Higher Institute of English while there are hundreds of French. I personally have traveled throughout the country without any fears at all.

Yes Mauritania is part of Sub-Saharan Africa and all that that entails. Africa is Africa. However, it is actually less diseased than many other parts as it is mostly arid.

There are some French run international schools that hire ESL teachers in Mauritania..the pay is around $2,000/Month plus some benefits. Good luck in your search!

In Ecuador I taught at elite private school and got 450/month plus my visa paid for..with no airfare or housing assistance. Ecuador is actually not in a recession, so the country is not really that poor right now. Although I admit in many of the poorest countries 1-5% of the population is wealthy and well educated, any job in a country this poor offering 2000 US dollars a month plus other benefits is 100% certain to be a scam!

If Ecuador is anything like Colombia as far as pay, and I am sure it is, then you got ripped off or the school is not truly elite. You should be earning AT LEAST triple or 3.5x that and in rare cases 4x or more, at least for the top tier international schools.

I am a little bewildered as to why you'd want to go there, but each to their own - and good luck!

She posted this comment on Sunday, June 24, 2012, so I think replying almost 6 years later is a bit pointless!

Indeed

Mauritania is by the way a lovely place to teach.

Looking at Dorry's post, there are so many inaccuracies there - it’s almost like she’s deliberately trying to put people off.

The vaccinations for s start; one of the ones she mentioned doesn’t even exist (dengue) and the others are not commonly expected for Mauritania. I had only one of them (yellow fever) because I wanted to go to Senegal for weekend breaks from Nouakchott. I’ve never taken anti-malarials here either; that’s more for the far south of the country (where as far as I know there aren’t any expat teachers).

As for any kidnapping risk, the capital is considered safe, and even outside the capital, I’ve always felt fine.

One of the more unusual places to be, and in my experience one of the more interesting and enjoyable ones. Mauritanians are really nice people and a delight to teach.

More info on opportunities in Mauritania: while the country is poor it has a surprisingly large number of opportunities for teaching English or in English in the capital city.

There are two international high schools, both teaching the US curriculum. These are TLC and the American embassy school. Both take mostly Americans and West African faculty. Some teach English and some teach other subjects in English (eg math, science).

I guess they have 8-10 non-West Africans in each. The third place is the Higher Institute of English which again has some who teach English and some (mostly on the degree program) who teach other subjects especially business and IT but in the English language. They are taking a third year for the first time and so teacher numbers will have to grow again. They want 25 or so non-locals. They take mostly Brits, Irish and commonwealth native speakers. All in all that is around 45 expat teachers in the city on developed world salaries. They are a few other expats scattered around the city in local language schools and the university on lesser money. However, overall it's quite a community.

I've been reading up on this unusual country recently and watching YouTube clips. It seems to be developing quite quickly, lots of expats there are fond of it, the local people seem to be quite friendly (although market traders will often try to rip you off), there's a growing water sports scene (not a Trumpy euphemism!), it's safer than you'd think if you only gave it a casual glance, the food choices in restaurants and supermarkets are basic apart from the fish, the Islam there is more liberal than here in Riyadh so mixed classes and no close down for prayers 5 times a fecking day, and it's all sand. Anyone want to add or challenge?